


Reunion

by EmJ93



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: A little bit of pining, Pre-Relationship Aloth/Watcher, spoilers for the beginning of Deadfire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 16:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17083958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmJ93/pseuds/EmJ93
Summary: Ariela and Eder take a detour on their way to find someone who might be able to help them to fix up their wrecked ship, and end up meeting an old friend.





	Reunion

They had been walking for miles. 

It wasn’t that Ariela was opposed to walking, in fact she rather liked it, in the right circumstances. She’d enjoyed a good stroll in her leisure time back in Aedyr, taking in the beautiful sights that surrounded her hometown, often with a pretty companion of her choosing to keep her company. She’d even found a nice trail near Caed Nua, after settling there, which she’d taken to walking with Vela, teaching the young girl about the flowers and animals that they saw along the way. But trekking for hours through an unfamiliar land, in the aftermath of a storm, still sore and tired from the shipwreck, and… well, whatever it was that had happened to her before that… was _not_  exactly her idea of fun.

The Dawnstars that they’d met along the road a couple of hours before had pointed them in the direction of the nearest town, but Ariela had been beginning to worry that they’d somehow managed to get lost along the way, until the day’s light began to dip as the evening came upon them, and she saw the gentle glow of streetlights on the horizon. The end of their walk was finally in sight.

“Doesn’t look too much further now.” Eder remarked, turning his attention from the road ahead to flash her an encouraging smile. “You holding up OK?”

Ariela let out a long breath. “That’s a  _big_  question. But, in the short term… I think so?" 

"Good.” Relief flooded her friend’s face, before he added, “You know, you had me pretty worried back there for a while.”

“You mean when I died?” Ariela tried to lighten the mood with a smile, making out like she thought the whole thing was trivial, but in reality, that was the part of her recent experiences that she wasn’t handling so well. She’d been starting to remember, as they walked, what exactly had happened back in the Dyrwood. Though she didn’t quite have a clear picture of everything- she suspected that she’d been in and out of consciousness for a lot of it- she remembered enough.  _The ground rumbling; erupting. Pain wracking her body. Screams._

_The screams of people who had trusted her to keep them safe, begging for help, as she laid there powerless to do anything._

She averted her gaze from Eder’s quickly, not wanting to cause her friend any more worry, and swallowed heavily, trying to shake the memories from her mind.

“I don’t rightly know what happened to you, Ari, but I’m glad that you’re…”

“Eder, look!” She hadn’t meant to cut him off in the middle of what she was sure had been going to be a heartfelt message of support, though it  _was_  true that she didn’t particularly want to dwell on the subject any longer. But in her attempt to look anywhere but his eyes, not wanting to let on how she was truly feeling, she had noticed that something off with the ground not too far away. “It’s a footprint! A massive footprint. Eothas must have went that way.”

“And so you want to go that way too?” Eder looked dubious, his eyes drifting back and forth between the lights on the horizon and the huge indent in the ground, heading off in a different direction. “We’re not far from that town. It might be a safer bet.”

“I know.” Ariela bit on her lower lip, nibbling anxiously. “But the ship can wait a little longer. The crew managed to salvage some supplies, they’ll be alright for a little while. If there’s people that way…” Her eyes fixed on the direction that the God had apparently traveled.  _Pain. Screams. Disaster._  She didn’t want anyone else to suffer. “Please, Eder. I couldn’t help anyone in Caed Nua. If anyone else was caught in his wake… If there’s still someone that can be saved here, I _have_  to do all that I can for them. I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t at least try.”

–

It was just when Ariela had decided that there was no-one along this path that needed her help, as the last of the evening light that had been guiding them through the unfamiliar terrain was beginning to fade completely, that they reached the first signs of civilization. It was a ruin of some sort, Engwithan, but the well-maintained and well-lit route deeper into the structure suggested that it was still regularly accessed, or, at least, had been recently. 

“You know, I might have plenty to say to my God, but if he’s standin’ just around the corner, I don’t know that me and you can take him all on our own.” Eder remarked, dodging around another of the footprints as they moved along the path. Ariela tried not to dwell on how deep the impact of just one foot had been, tried not to remember the keep she’d rebuilt being crumpled into rubble. “I figure we’re gonna need at least another person, maybe even two.”

Ariela chuckled, despite her nervousness. “Well, perhaps you should have thought about that before you put me on a boat and headed out to sea to chase a God.”

“True enough.”

“Perhaps I didn’t mention enough how much I hate boats while we were traveling together. Though, in my defense, I  _did_  have other things on my mind at the time.” Ariela’s eyes darted about, looking for any sign of life as she walked, relying on the torches that had been set up along the pathway to light her way. 

It was as the path widened out into a clearing, at the top of a wooden staircase which seemed to be a more recent addition to the site, that she saw them. She might have mistaken them for statues at first, were it not for the unusual positions that the figures were in, forever frozen cowering in terror, and for the fact that she had seen something like this before, all those years ago, when her soul had first been Awakened. These were people,  _had been_  people, before their bodies had been turned to ash, souls ripped from them.

“ _Gods_.” Ariela breathed, fighting back tears that had begun to well in her eyes. Had this been the fate of everyone back home, the people she had been supposed to protect? Swallowing heavily, she turned for the staircase, leading the way down into ruin. “Come on, let’s just… let’s see if there’s anyone left.”

Moving down and into the ruin properly, it became apparent that this had been some kind of digsite; tools and equipment were left scattered across the ground where they had been discarded by users in the moments before their deaths, and a few benches were set up along the way, covered in papers and the occasional relic. She kept moving past it all, searching for any sign of survivors, against all reason.

The first sign of movement raised her hopes, until a blast of flame crashed into the ground just in front of her, and she realised that it was a wurm- two wurms, in fact- and not a person, that she had seen moving. She jumped back quickly, thankful for the quality of her boots and the poor aim of the creature, that had helped her avoid harm. Eder began to move past her, hand already moving towards the hilt of his weapon, but she reached out to stop him.

“Wait!” The creatures weren’t supposed to be here, they’d probably been displaced from their actual homes as the God that that she was following had strode through them. They were lost, and scared. This didn’t have to end in violence. “I can handle this. We don’t need to hurt them.”

Reaching out with her mind, it wasn’t difficult to influence them, convincing them to leave this place and head back to their homes. It wasn’t a permanent solution, when her influence faded, there was every chance that they would eventually make their way back here, but for the time being, the creatures turned and left without any further fuss.

“Hey, that was pretty good!” Eder smiled at her encouragingly. “You should do that for every fight.”

“Well, frightened creatures are easier to influence than angry kith, but I’ll certainly keep it in mind." 

Moving across to a wooden ramp, leading down to a lower level of the ruin, Ariela found a pair of panthers and a large contraption made out of equipment that Ariela vaguely recognised as having some kind of relevance to the animantic sciences. The panthers she dealt with quickly, scattering them back into the surrounding forest without any need for confrontation, but the contraption required further study. It seemed to be a cage of some sort, she could figure out that much, though there appeared to be no way to open the thing from the outside that she could see. Moving closer, she caught sight of some kind of movement behind the clouded glass walls, and with a little focus was able to make out the silhouettes of several kith inside.

"Hello?” Ariela called out, moving up to the machine properly and trying to focus her eyes on what was inside. “Is someone in there? Are you alright?”

“Are the beasts gone?” A voice asked from inside, and she saw one of the figures move up to the glass, stopping right in front of her, moving their face closer as if trying to get a better view.

“I can’t guarantee that they’ll stay gone forever.” Ariela admitted. “But I drove them off, so it’s safe right now.”

There was some murmured discussion between the residents of the cage that Ariela couldn’t quite make out, but relief flooded through her veins all the same. Whatever they chose to do now, at least there were some survivors coming out of this mess. She was glad that they had come this way, even if it had delayed finding someone to help them fix the ship, because at least now she knew for certain there was some hope. People in Eothas’ wake may still yet survive.

There was a rattle and a loud clank, followed by the whirring sound of machinery, and Ariela moved back a few steps as the door to the cage began to open, the people inside spilling out. They looked tired, a little shaken, but physically not too worse for wear.

A young man towards the back of the group began cheering that they were saved, but the woman who stepped to the front of the group seemed less enthusiastic. She was human, not yet middle aged- though Ariela was notoriously terrible at judging the ages of younger races- and wore a serious expression on her face. 

She peered past Ariela curiously, as if expecting someone else to be there. “Governer Clario must have sent you to rescue us, no?”

“Um,  _no_ , actually.” Ariela corrected, with an apologetic expression. “We just… well, we happened to be in the area, and I had to see if there was still anyone to be saved.”

“She’s like that.” Eder remarked, from beside her. “You just kind of have to get used it.”

“Well, you are here, and that is what matters.” The group spokeswoman seemed somewhat dejected that they had not been an official search party, but considering Ariela was not entirely sure where they were, let alone what local politics might be at play, she decided to let it go and not probe any further into the matter.

“What were you all doing out here?” Ariela queried, supposing it was a natural change of subject. And now that she knew there were survivors, she had to admit to being a little curious about the ruins.

“Hiding, of course!” The young man, the same one that had been cheering as he came out of the cage, remarked.

“We were taking measurements of the luminous adra when something strange began happening.” The first woman explained, somewhat more helpfully.

_The ground rumbling; erupting_. 

“It was fascinating.” The young man continued. “The pillar started to dim. The ground shook, and our instruments showed unusual variations of-”

“That’s when those of us with a grain of sense got into the cage.” An older woman from somewhere in the middle of the group piped up, cutting of the younger man mid sentence.

“What exactly  _is_  the cage?” Ariela asked, glancing past the group to look at the work of animancy behind them. It wasn’t a topic she knew a lot about, though she’d always found it somewhat fascinating. It  _was_  outlawed where she had grown up, after all, so naturally she’d always wondered what all of the fuss was about.

“Something we made to protect ourselves from surges in the luminous adra.”  
Ariela glanced at Eder, dropping her voice a little. “If Eothas is using the adra statue to collect soul essence, that would explain why they were protected inside, while everyone outside…” She trailed off, the end of the sentence apparent without her having to say it.

“What would he need with souls?”

“I… don’t exactly know. And frankly, I think I’m a little terrified to find out.” Turning back to the survivors she asked; “Did you see what happened?”

The woman at the front of the group nodded solemnly. “The colossus. Some kind of construct made from luminous adra. It passed through towards the pillar. The pillar went dark, and all of our colleagues outside the cage froze. Like they were turned to ash.”

“I’m very sorry for your losses.” Ariela added, respectfully. “If you need to take a moment…”

“After that was when the panthers and wurms showed up!” The enthusiastic young man took over. “They started going through the tents, it was  _awful_. But Engferth-”

The woman that had been speaking shot a terrifying look in his direction, and he fell quiet so that she could speak once again. She addressed Ariela with a somewhat desperate look. “Some of our people are still missing inside the ruins, including our lead researcher, Oderisi. It could be possible that he managed to hide.”

“I… don’t know how likely that is.” Ariela admitted, carefully. “But I’m perfectly willing to help however I can. I can go and take a look inside, if you’d like? See if I can find more suvivors?”

“You would?”

“Of course. We want to help, that’s why we’re here.” She glanced in Eder’s direction, and to Ariela’s relief he gave an approving nod.

“Well, if you’re going below… you should take Engferth with you.” She turned to motion somebody to the front of the group. 

“Oh, don’t worry, we’re quite capable-” Ariela began, not wanting to drag anyone from the group into potential danger.

At the exact same time, Eder remarked; “Hey, he looks just like-" 

Ariela followed her friend’s gaze, confused as to why Eder had cut himself off. Her confusion was short lived, however, as her eyes landed on the person being ushered to the front of the group. She knew the face well, and had, in fact, dreamt about those pretty features regularly over the last few years. The woman may have identified him as ‘Engferth’, but the man now standing before her was most definitely Aloth Corfiser.

She cocked an eyebrow in his direction, but carefully schooled her expression to be as close to neutral as she could manage as he discretely tapped a finger to his lips. She wasn’t a fan of dishonesty, but she trusted Aloth, and if he felt there was a need to keep his identity concealed, then she would respect his decision to do so.

But… that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little fun with him. Five years  _was_  a long time to go without even so much as a letter to your dear friend, after all.  
Tilting her head curiously, she tried not to let the smirk threatening to play on her lips show. "What else can you tell me about 'Engferth’?”

“I… I don’t think that’s really-” Aloth began to insist, but the woman had already begun to answer.

“He has only been with us for a few weeks. He’s inexperienced, but he came from a glowing recommendation from an academy in Selona.”

“Oh, I’m sure he did.” Ariela murmured, to herself.

“That’s surely a generous overstatement.” Aloth interjected, shooting Ariela a look.

She feigned innocence, returning her attention to the other woman, pointedly. “A  _glowing_  recommendation, you said?”

“'A pupil of unnatural talent’ is the phrase I recall.” The woman elaborated, ignoring the further attempts at protest from the man himself. “It seems he was loved and regarded by almost all of his instructors, though misunderstood, I gathered, by his fellow students.”

A deep blush had spread across Aloth’s cheeks by now, reaching up to the tips of his ears, and despite the glare he was leveling at Ariela, she couldn’t help but think that he looked adorable. 

She knew that she should stop her line of questioning now, that the task in front of her was far more important than this, but she’d been wound so tight with the tension of everything that was going on, and now that she’d allowed herself even a few moments of release, she wasn’t entirely sure how to stop. “That’s all very impressive. He doesn’t even  _sound_  Vailian.”

“Engferth’s story is especially sad!” The young man at the back of the group announced. “He was only a boy when both his parents died. In a fire.”

“Wishful thinking, surely.” Ariela remarked, somewhat more loudly than she had intended. Thankfully no-one questioned her comment.

“He came to the Dyrwood and lived at the manor of a wealthy old aunt from Aedyr until she also died… in a fire.”

Ariela turned her attention back to her former travelling companion, and found a sheepish look on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. 

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Aloth remarked; “Well,  _if that’s all_ , then perhaps we should be off. That is… if you want my assistance?”

“Of course. I’d like nothing more.”

–

“Your  _wealthy old aunt_!?” Ariela moved in front of Aloth as soon as they were out of view and earshot of the animancers, a mock frown on her face. “ _Really_?!”

He grimaced. “It seemed like a convenient story. Besides, you do have the oldest soul of anyone I know.”

“I’m still younger than you, you cheeky-" 

"Don’t mind her, Aloth.” Eder remarked, clapping a hand on the other man’s shoulder with a chuckle. “She’s been in a funny mood ever since she died again.”

“You…” Aloth’s gaze snapped to her face once more, a briefly horrified expression plain to see, before his eyes began roaming over her, searching for something. “What happened? Ariela, are you…?”

“I’m fine.” That wasn’t exactly true, but she said it all the same. It seemed easier than the reality. “What’s more important is what you’ve been up to.  _'Engferth’_. Five years since I saw you last! You don’t visit, you don’t write.”

She wasn’t entirely sure why it bothered her so much that he hadn’t been in contact with her since he’d left Caed Nua all those years ago. She’d encouraged him to follow his heart, to do what he thought was best, even if it meant parting company with one another. It wasn’t as though one year of adventuring together meant that he owed her a lifetime of acquaintance. No, that wasn’t quite right. Ariela  _did_  know why it bothered her so much. It was obvious, really. The feelings she’d developed for him during their time together had been beyond those of friendship, and though she’d kept those feelings to herself, she knew that she had been really quite smitten with him. The fact that he had broken off contact with her so entirely, it surely meant that he didn’t return those feelings. And, as much as she knew that it shouldn’t, that hurt her.

“Ah. Yes. Thank you for your discretion back there. Well, 'discretion’ in the loosest definition of the word, anyhow." 

"Sorry,” Ariela smiled. “Once I started, I couldn’t seem to stop." 

"All the same, I appreciate that you didn’t reveal my true identity. We can speak more freely about my movements once we’re away from the island.”

“Of course.” Ariela made to walk on, to head deeper inside the ruins in search of more survivors that she suspected they would not find, but before she could take a step, she quickly changed her mind.

Turning back to face Aloth, she wrapped her arms around him in a sudden embrace, releasing him after a brief moment to find that ever familiar, incredibly adorable flushed face. 

“It’s good to see you again.”

A genuine smile overtook his face, and, horribly, Ariela could feel herself falling in love all over again. “And you as well." 


End file.
